1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to armor plate structures and more particularly to a relatively light weight armor plate with low cost of fabrication and high resistance to projectile impact.
2. Description of Related Art
Ballistic panels are the single most important protection against various forms of ammunition and other projectile threats to law enforcement and armed forces personnel. Such panels are designed to provide protection with respect to the specifications of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the body establishing standards in this field, from their specified level IIA to level IV, and other applications such as bomb protection, blast protection and for fighting vehicles. Please see FIG. 7 for a definition of these standards. As stated, these panels are the most critical piece of armor used in law enforcement and military situations. These panels, in various configurations provide protection against variable threats encountered during combat and other situations. The major drawbacks of ballistic materials such as Spectra(copyright), Kevlar(copyright), and armor plate, which are currently in widespread use, are: excessive weight, high cost, and certain limitations to the protection afforded.
The prior art teaches the use of armor panels but does not teach a light weight and low cost panel fabricated using a large number of individual, foil thickness layers. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention proposes a totally new concept that involves incorporation of several materials in various thickness and layering to maximize protection with minimal weight and cost. This concept utilizes laminated layers forming panels constructed of the following material types:
Composite material, carbon fiber, layered with composite plastic fibers.
High carbon alloy steel in various thickness tempered by heat treating by oil quenching to achieve optimal hardness for ballistic applications.
Kevlar composite material.
Alloys of tempered armor screen in various thickness so as to provide good ballistic protection through the support of adjacent layers.
Kevlar fine filaments in a cross-layer configuration.
During extensive trials it was found that a plurality of materials of certain types and at relatively thin structure, i.e., foils, could react in a manner that was surprising in its ability to stop high speed projectiles such as bullets traveling at up to 2850 feet per second. Two different plate configurations have been found to provide outstanding and superior results. These are as follows:
In this approach, a selected number of panels are used to provide protection against different threat levels. For example, in order to provide NIJ Level III protection; see FIG. 7, a stack of five panels are bonded together. Each of the panels comprises five layers for a combined total of 25 unique layers. This concept provides protection against different threat levels by simply bonding a different number of panels with a thin layer of ballistic epoxy under vacuum conditions and cured at a high temperature. This process eliminates air bubbles, minimizes the thickness and provides an excellent ballistic projective rejection property. Because the number of panels used may be customized to the threat level, this approach provides adequate protection at least cost and weight.
This approach is similar to configuration 1 except a titanium alloy plate of a selected thickness is incorporated in the stack of panels. The Titanium alloy is heat treated in a controlled inert atmosphere to achieve excellent ballistic properties. The Titanium alloy plate is layered with a chosen number of other panels of materials drawn from the above list.
The typical panel formed in this way may take different shapes or configurations to suit various applications. An eight by ten inch rectangular panel can be formed with a large radius for insertion into a pocket of a bullet proof jacket at its front or rear panel to provide protection up to level IV. Similarly large panels can be formed and mounted under a helicopter pilot or passenger seat to provide protection against ballistic objects. Panels can also be used to reinforce aircraft cockpit doors, buildings, containers, fighting vehicles, cars, podiums, and very many other applications.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method of use of such apparatus that provides advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide such an invention capable of rejecting penetration by high speed projectiles.
A further objective is to provide such an invention capable of being made with low weight factor.
A still further objective is to provide such an invention capable of being made at relatively low cost.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.